Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf will undertake a one-day visit to Afghanistan on Thursday for talks with the Afghan leadership aimed at finding ways to ensure sustainable peace and security in the region, officials said.

Ashraf is visiting Afghanistan at the invitation of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, officials said.

This is his second foreign visit since he became premier last month. Ashraf made a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this week.

The premier will hold a bilateral meeting with President Karzai, following which the two leaders are expected to hold a press conference, officials said.

Karzai will receive Ashraf, who is on his first visit to Kabul after becoming premier, at a formal ceremony at the presidential palace.

Ashraf will also participate in a trilateral Pakistan-Afghanistan-UK meeting to discuss the prospects of taking forward the peace process in Afghanistan.

The premier is also scheduled to hold meetings with Afghan High Peace Council chairman Salahuddin Rabbani and leaders of the Afghan National Front and Truth and Justice Party.

Ashraf will also inaugurate the new complex of the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul.